"We wanted to keep it stock-ish with a little bit of new," Decker, a native of Leitchfield, Kentucky, said during the recent Holley LS Fest East event in nearby Bowling Green. "We mixed it up a little bit but didn't want to cut the car up or anything like that."

Decker's dad had always wanted a '66 Chevy II and the pair bought the car locally from a gentleman named Jeff Duvall. His son, Logan, is a welder by trade and works on performance projects for Holley. Logan Duvall was responsible for much of the build and Jeremy Decker is quick to give him credit for the project.

"Logan would just kind of run our options by us," Decker said. "We would just tell him what we wanted and that's what he'd do."

The option at the heart of the car is the LS376/525 crate engine*, which is rated at 525 horsepower and 484 lb.-ft. of torque from the factory. It is based on the standard and popular aluminum-block 6.2L LS3*, but uses an aggressive ASA camshaft to help make additional power. However, Decker went one step further and added a slightly bigger camshaft still. In addition, the engine features a Holly EFI system.

"We've always heard good things about the LS,  we've always had good luck out of them," Decker said. "They're aluminum, they save weight, they're very reliable and they cool off quick."

The engine in the Chevy II is mated to a 4L60-E transmission from GM.

Underneath the car are King coilovers in the front, along with a K-member front end, but the rear remains a leaf-spring setup. The car rides on Continental tires and custom 17–inch, polished chrome Weld wheels. It is stopped by Wilwood six-piston brakes.

The Chevy II was originally white, but Jeff Duvall painted it in an eye-popping baby blue color, which was a Chevrolet option for 1966. The work was done at his shop in Bee Spring, Kentucky. Additionally, "327" badges adorn the front fenders, but the car rolled off the assembly line with a straight six-cylinder engine.

 The Deckers also added a fiberglass hood from Hardwood Industries. It helped some with the fitment of the LS376/525* in the engine bay, but primarily it was a styling decision.

"We wanted the cowl hood, it sets it off a little bit more," Decker said.

The interior, installed at Woosley Upholstery, maintains a primarily stock appearance, but with some updated touches like a Dakota Digital gauge cluster and upgraded door hinges.

"We tried to keep the inside of the car pretty simple, it's pretty much like a factory inside," Decker said.

Decker says he and his family have been Chevy people for as long as he can remember. They own nearly a dozen cars: most of them are Chevrolet models including Camaros, Novas and an all-original '55 Chevy. However, the Chevy II, which they have owned for three years, holds a special place in the collection.

"This right here is No. 1," Decker said. "This is the only one we've ever had that's been frame-off. I mean every nut and bolt, everything on that car is brand new."

Decker drives a dump truck hauling rock with his father, and the Deckers also own a farm made up of more than 500 acres. But in 2022 much of Jeremy's time has been taken up running a new eighth-mile drag strip in Leitchfield, Kentucky, called Decker Boyz Racing. He also races a 1972 Nova there and at other area tracks.

Decker goes to LS Fest each September and this year was attending with his cousin, a fellow enthusiast with whom he attends the PRI Trade Show and other automotive events.

"At LS Fest it's just something to see the different stuff that [attendees] can actually put an LS in," Decker said. "That's what I like to see more than anything."